JINA-CEE

JINA-CEE
Name	JINA-CEE
Abbreviation	JINA-CEE
Formation	2014
Type	Research Network
Headquarters	University of Notre Dame
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Michael Wiescher
Region served	International

JINA-CEE JINA-CEE is a collaborative research network focused on nuclear astrophysics that connects experimental, observational, and theoretical efforts across institutions. It integrates laboratories, universities, and observatories to address nucleosynthesis, stellar evolution, and explosive transients. The network builds on partnerships among national laboratories and international consortia to support multi-messenger astronomy, laboratory astrophysics, and computational science.

Overview

JINA-CEE brings together researchers from institutions such as the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, TRIUMF, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics to study processes like the r-process, s-process, and p-process. The collaboration interfaces with observatories including Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and ground-based facilities like Large Binocular Telescope, Keck Observatory, and Very Large Telescope for multi-wavelength studies. It works closely with experiments at accelerator centers such as Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, ISOLDE, GANIL, and RIKEN and aligns with theoretical frameworks from groups including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy.

Scientific Goals and Research Programs

JINA-CEE pursues goals addressing nucleosynthesis pathways in environments like core-collapse supernovae, neutron star mergers, type Ia supernovae, and classical novae. Programs integrate nuclear reaction measurements at facilities such as Notre Dame Nuclear Science Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and TRIUMF with hydrodynamic modeling from centers like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and radiative transfer calculations used by teams at Caltech and Princeton University. Research emphasizes isotope production for elements from iron to uranium, linking to observational signatures in spectra from instruments like Subaru Telescope and Gemini Observatory. Studies incorporate inputs from particle experiments at CERN, neutrino observations from Super-Kamiokande, and gravitational-wave detections by LIGO and VIRGO.

Organization and Collaborations

The network structure connects principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and staff scientists across partner institutions including University of Chicago, Columbia University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University. Collaborative governance includes advisory boards with representatives from National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, European Research Council, and agencies like NSF-funded programs. JINA-CEE coordinates with consortia such as NuGrid, FRIB Theory Alliance, and international collaborations like IReNA and IAEA projects, facilitating joint workshops at venues like KITP and INT.

Education, Outreach, and Workforce Development

JINA-CEE runs training programs for students and postdocs hosted at universities such as University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, and University of Arizona. The network organizes summer schools, topical workshops, and outreach initiatives in partnership with museums like the Smithsonian Institution and public events tied to observatories such as Palomar Observatory and planetaria like the Hayden Planetarium. It supports diversity and inclusion efforts coordinated with organizations like APS and AAS, and participates in K–12 engagement aligned with standards promoted by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Facilities and Computational Resources

JINA-CEE leverages experimental facilities including FRIB, HRIBF, ISAC, and JYFL for rare isotope production and measurement, along with detector labs at Brookhaven National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Computational resources include access to supercomputers at NERSC, XSEDE, Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, and cloud platforms used by groups at Princeton University and University of Michigan for large-scale nucleosynthesis simulations. Data analysis pipelines interface with databases and tools developed in collaboration with NIST and archives such as the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and ADS.

Major Projects and Impact

Major initiatives include coordinated experimental campaigns for neutron-capture and charged-particle rates, contributions to interpretation of kilonova observations following events like GW170817, and inputs to galactic chemical evolution models used by teams at Harvard University and University of Cambridge. Outputs influence abundance analyses of metal-poor stars observed with instruments on Magellan Telescopes and surveys like Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Gaia. Findings inform nuclear data libraries such as those maintained by ENDF and impact astrophysical reaction-rate compilations used across theoretical astrophysics and observational programs at ESO.

Funding and Governance

Funding for JINA-CEE comes from agencies including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and international funders such as the European Commission and national research councils like the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Administrative coordination is hosted at institutions including University of Notre Dame with oversight by steering committees composed of representatives from partner universities and laboratories such as Michigan State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The consortium adheres to reporting and review processes in consultation with panels from NSF and DOE program offices.

Category:Nuclear astrophysics